🌿 How to choose a sealant for wood: types, choices and tips for use

Only natural stone can compete with environmental friendliness, decorative variety and versatility of wooden products. But in addition to natural beauty and practicality, wood is not so easy to process efficiently and quickly due to the peculiarities of its structure and plasticity. In addition, when joining boards and other building materials made of wood, it will not be possible to avoid all kinds of cracks and unexpected cracks or chips. If it were metal, we would use welding. In the case of concrete, everything will be solved with a bucket of cement mortar. But what about natural wood material? The simplest and most effective way is wood sealant. Types, the choice of a specific instance, as well as all sorts of tips for proper use - it is about these aspects of the selection of a special mixture for sealing, the HouseChief editorial staff will tell its readers in a new article. Stay tuned if you don't want to let raw joints make your home's climate less comfortable!

Read in the article

1 Types of wood sealants
- 1.1 Acrylic Wood Sealant
- 1.2 Silicone Wood Sealant
- 1.3 Polyurethane Wood Sealant
- 1.4 Special types of sealing compounds
2 Types, technical characteristics and other parameters affecting the choice of sealant
- 2.1 Scope of application
- 2.2 Useful life
- 2.3 Temperature and humidity
- 2.4 Shade
3 Top product manufacturers in 2019
4 Tips for Correct Wood Sealant Application - Step by Step Guide
5 conclusions

Types of wood sealants

To begin with, it is worth clarifying that a sealant is a thick, pasty mixture that, when applied, fills all the free space. Due to this property, the treated wood surface does not absorb moisture, blocks the formation of mold and mildew, and also simply does not let cold air or water into the room.

The areas of use of compounds for sealing cover almost all branches of construction - choose at your discretion

Starting to select a suitable copy of the material for decoration, you should first of all decide on its type. Today, at least four common versions of chemical filling products are known. Let's take a look at each of them separately.

Acrylic Wood Sealant

The most budgetary and simple solution in 2019, without a doubt, can be considered an acrylic modification. It is widely distributed in stores and retail chains. Such compositions do not harm the environment and human health, and also have good adhesion and easy application. But these advantages also have a "reverse side of the coin" - low resistance to humidity and sudden changes in air temperature.

Acrylic sealants are available both in the form of cartridges for the assembly gun and in larger containers.

Silicone Wood Sealant

The next option, which has gained considerable popularity among beginners and experienced builders, is a product based on plastic silicone. A distinctive feature of such a seal is the symbiosis of excellent hydrophobicity, durability and affordable price.

Silicone mixtures do not lend themselves to coloring, but this is solved by a huge range of colors.

Today, two large subspecies can be distinguished:

Acid - characterized by the presence of acetic acid in the composition, which leaves a unique "aroma" on the treated wood. But the price tag is very democratic.
Neutral - an improved version of the previous sample. Adhesion to any surfaces, no foreign odors. But the cost is much higher - you have to pay for quality and comfort.

Silicone sealants are used for both indoor and outdoor work

Polyurethane Wood Sealant

The most powerful and reliable composition of all can be safely called a polyurethane sealant. It stands out for its impeccable plasticity, resistance not only to moisture, but also to mechanical stress, as well as alkalis and salts. But keep in mind that the cost of such a product will be appropriate. And one more nuance - polyurethane is afraid of ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, for outdoor use, this modification is very limited.

Such a sealant can be easily applied even to the remnants of the old insulating material - high adhesion will do the trick

Special types of sealing compounds

Separately, it is worth highlighting sealants that have specific properties or special active ingredients. These include a sanitary seal equipped with a number of unique additives that destroy fungi, mold and other harmful organisms. Or, for example, a bituminous sealant. Consists of rubber and bitumen mixed in a certain proportion. It is ideal for sealing cracks and crevices in wooden roofs, reliable and durable. But due to the peculiarities of its appearance, it has a number of limitations.

Bituminous mastic is not stained, therefore it is rational to use it only during the construction or repair of the roof

Types, technical characteristics and other parameters affecting the choice of sealant

A start! But this knowledge is hardly enough to immediately acquire a decent copy that suits your needs. The choice is influenced by a number of characteristics and features, each of which must be taken into account.

Scope of application

The type of sealant should come first, but we discussed this in the previous section. Therefore, we smoothly move on to the next item - areas of use. Depending on different circumstances, the following main groups can be distinguished:

Type of sealant used	Application area
Acrylic	Crafts and souvenirs creation; minor repairs in the room (temperate climate)
Silicone	Internal and external work (especially window openings and stairs); sealing cracks in wood
Polyurethane	Any processing of the interior of a house or apartment; external areas of the wall that are not exposed to sunlight
Sanitary	Wooden parts of bathrooms; private houses near water bodies and other conditions of high humidity
Bituminous	Processing of the roof and its elements

For log dwellings, it is better to use a polyurethane or silicone mixture, since such buildings are subject to regular deformation.

Note! On the modern market, there are models of wood sealants based on both silicone and acrylic. They combine both the hydrophobicity and elasticity of the first component and the favorable cost of the second. Having met a similar mixture in the store, you can safely take it for your needs - it is practically devoid of drawbacks.

Useful life

It is equally important to remember about the time during which you do not need to replace the layer of sealant applied to the surface of the wooden structure. As a rule, manufacturers indicate this information on the packaging with the product, but if there is none, then you can use the table below:

Sealant	Service life of the material, years
Indoors	Outside the premises
Acrylic	5-10	1-2
Silicone	20-25	3
Polyurethane	25-40	15

Remember to remove the old insulating layer before applying the new one.

Temperature and humidity

Do not discount the conditions under which the hero of our review will be used. At high temperatures and insufficient humidity, increased shrinkage will be observed, entailing the formation of new cracks and the risk of changing the position of the structure in space. In the opposite situation, the sealant may undergo structural destruction and loss of its original properties.

Failure to comply with the operating rules leads to irreversible consequences that require expensive elimination

Shade

Some insulating products do not allow additional paint over the applied layer. Fortunately, manufacturers have already solved this problem a long time ago by giving their products certain shades. You just have to choose the right color before use.

Take a photo of the structure before going to the store and compare the colors indicated on the package with the photo at the time of purchase

Top product manufacturers in 2019

It is also worth saying a few words about the manufacturers. There are many unknown firms that produce low-quality products, albeit at favorable prices. The HouseChief editorial team invites its readers to get acquainted with our rating of companies, whose products, at least, do not raise doubts about their quality, reliability and popularity.

Manufacturer	The most famous brand product	Photo
Olive	Accent 136	PHOTO: prorab.help
Rainbow	ForWood G01	PHOTO: domkrasok19.ru
Expert ecology-Neohim	Neomid Wood Professional	PHOTO: priceguard.ru
Perma-Chink Systems	PermaChink	PHOTO: dom56.ru
Soudal	Soudal Parquet	PHOTO: inter-sil.ru

For example, we suggest that you also study the review of one of the sealants indicated in our list:

Read more on otzovik: https://otzovik.com/review_1249919.html

Tips for Correct Wood Sealant Application - Step by Step Guide

Let's say you have purchased a sealing compound suitable for all properties and want to test it in action. Alas, this process requires preparatory work and certain skills. The first time you do the styling will not work perfectly. But to understand the process, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the simple step-by-step scheme of actions attached below. As an example, we took the seams between the joints, since they are the most time consuming and responsible.

Illustration	Description of actions
	We clean the joint surface from dirt, dust and other foreign objects (if a layer of sealant or paint was previously applied, then they must be removed)
	We take a heat-insulating cord (you can buy it in a store or make it yourself from foam rubber) and lay it along the entire length of the seam, carefully deepening inside
	We fix the previously purchased sealant cartridge in the assembly gun and apply the mixture to the treated wood. If the sealant is packed in a plastic bucket, then it is applied with a spatula - but this is much longer and more difficult
	Immediately after application, take a brush or other similar object and level the sealant layer, while removing excess residues at the edges of the logs
	With the help of a piece of cloth (rags or special napkins), we remove the emerging smudges, since the composition can periodically increase in volume in the first few minutes
	We repeat the same steps with corners and cuts - they are more time consuming, but no special procedures are required

Note! To seal a crack in a log or other object with a wood sealant, in addition to cleaning the surface, you will also need to glue electrical tape or masking tape from both edges. Further actions completely duplicate the scheme described by us earlier. Only at the final stage do you remove the tape from the "healed" wood, in return for a smooth seam.

conclusions

Our journey into the world of insulating materials for wood has come to an end. We hope that each of our readers has found for themselves a lot of useful information that will help in construction and repair. In turn, HouseChief's editors would be very interested to know the opinion of those of you who have already used wood sealants. Let us know in the comments about your experience. Finally, we would like to wish each of you successful construction and renovation, warmth and comfort. Until next time!

Correctly executed and painted seam will be a decorative decoration of your home.

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